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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29078727">A-Hunting We Will Go</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/remi_wolf/pseuds/remi_wolf'>remi_wolf</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Disappointing Hunt [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Blaseball (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Dark Seattle, Chases, Cybernetics, Cyberpunk, Dark Character, Dark Seattle Corporates (Blaseball Team), Gen, Heavensmaw Moonrays, Hunting, Inter-Team Sabotage, Mirror Universe, Seattle Corporates, Surveillance, Threats of Violence, corporate hell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:33:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,152</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29078727</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/remi_wolf/pseuds/remi_wolf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a resounding victory over the Heavensmaw Moonrays, Theodore Duende, captain of the Seattle Corporates, takes his place in the vast web of cameras and surveillance systems at the heart of Jamazon Corporate Headquarters. Plugged into such a system, Theo is able to orchestrate the vast hunt that takes place across the entire city. Perhaps this time the Seattle Corporates will be able to capture one of the Moonrays for themselves.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Disappointing Hunt [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2157744</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Beguilements and Distractions</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A-Hunting We Will Go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So, the Seattle Garages lore chat goes brr, and right now, we're all vibrating about the mirror/dark/shadow universe that holds the Seattle Corporates and the Heavensmaw Moonrays. We're lucky to have a tour mate that's given us some information about Heavensmaw and the hell that is that place, and we've all been vibrating over the Corporates and what sort of hell <em>that</em> would be, and we ended up talking all day yesterday or today about what the Corporates do for team-building exercises. Well! Along with your usual trust falls, they hunt each other for sport, and then they also hunt down members of the other teams for sport as well.<br/>Here we've got the record of one such hunt! Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Theo took a deep breath, settling into his office. Everything was in order, the pencils carefully set in their cup three inches away from the corner of the desk, and his computer already humming like the purr of a content cat. He could feel the thrum of eagerly excited energy from the others, and he wanted to bounce on his toes as he looked at the various screens littering the walls. Already, everyone seemed to be in place. He could see the live feed from Gwiff in the air, and Ollie was already climbing and running up the side of one of the nearby apartment buildings. Everyone else was settling into their places, a wide array, like a net spread out across the city, and Theo was at the very heart of it. </p><p>The Moonrays had just lost their game, and he knew that those players would feel the sting. Sandoval would be furious with them, and so the Corporates would have another thirty minutes and sixteen seconds on top of the four hours it would take the Moonrays to get to their jet and leave the city’s airspace. At that point, the Corporates wouldn’t be able to get their hands on any of the players, and Theo <em> knew </em> that the corporation wanted to get one of the Moonray players. After all, the Moonrays had a habit of collecting the very best and brightest players. The Corporates had a habit of <em> keeping </em> the very best and brightest players. It was about time they acquired another player. </p><p>He quickly tugged off his shirt before he settled down in his chair, a large and comfortable thing that cocooned him in information and wires. The ethernet and HDMI and other cables carefully slotted into the ports along the full length of his spine, and he couldn’t help the jolt as he felt the system lock him into place and the chair settle in around him. The displays dropped in front of him, and the keyboards settled at his fingertips, and he closed his eyes as the chatter of his teammates filled his ears. </p><p>“<em>Christ </em>, Theo, can’t you talk to them about getting that jolt fixed?”</p><p>“The jolt lets everyone know that I’m ready, Abbott. Would you like to inform management that you aren’t satisfied with their generous support of the team?”</p><p>There was a long pause on the other end of the comm link, and Theo flipped between cameras until he saw Allison standing at the corner of Republican Street and Fairview Avenue. She adjusted her bat in her hands, flipping it between the various modes before she finally shook her head.</p><p>“It’s fine,” she finally said after a few moments, and Theo breathed a sigh of relief with the rest of the team as play continued. “Where are our targets?”</p><p>Theo smiled faintly, pulling his attention back to the whole of Seattle, watching the buzz of heat signatures across the city. One, blazing bright and nearly blinding. “Six blocks north-by-northeast from you. Gwiff, you accompany her, along with Mike in the sewer and Malik on the street.” He focused in on the, a small frown on his face. “And Turnip. It’s Taylor. We know how much Sandoval likes that one.”</p><p>At the murmur of agreement on the other side, he turned his attention away. Five people on Taylor should be enough to get a good hunt in that direction, but he doubted that they would be able to catch them. Honestly, it was mostly to see how Taylor would do against Gwiff after the were-owl’s latest training, but the others would have a good time with the practice as well. </p><p>“Ollie, Tot, there’s movement a block south of you.” Theo turned his attention to those cameras, frowning for a moment. Those figures were familiar, and not only because of the phantom pain from when they pushed him into the wall when there weren’t cameras to record it. “It’s Igneus and James, proceed with caution when you approach Igneus.” Theo frowned for a moment before looking for the others closest to these targets. “Trombone, Cash, you get there as well. Four blocks east of both of you, get there quickly, I’ll try to slow them down for you.”</p><p>“Got it, boss.”</p><p>Theo grinned at Trombone’s clipped words, and he pulled down one of the other screens from the ceiling, tapping out a few access codes before briefly returning his attention to Igneus and James. Igneus had been particularly nasty today, and while James seemed shaken by it, it didn’t seem anything particularly out of the ordinary in his opinion. Still, he knew that it was better to be safe than sorry, and so he quietly deployed the tear gas. “Gas masks for everyone, by the way.”</p><p>“Seriously?”</p><p>“Unless you’d like to run through tear gas on your own, Ollie, I suggest you do as told.” Theo frowned for a few moments before tapping out a message to the managers. Ollie clearly needed some time to understand the importance of listening to supervisors and doing as told. Theodore didn’t like writing these reports, but he was a good manager, after all, and this way he could ensure that his team was doing the very best that they could. He could feel the ripple of unease and disappointment as the others realized what he was doing, even if they didn’t say anything. Well, it would teach the others, and they’d be better for it. </p><p>There was a few moments of quiet, and Theo resumed his search for the other Heavensmaw players. Pacheco and Fox were already less than a mile from the jet, and with the way they were running, Theo projected their arrival to be less than three minutes. He frowned for a moment before sending a ping off to OLL-E. </p><p>“Yes, sir?”</p><p>Theo smiled at the respect, just something nice that was a rare treat. “OLL-E, you’re the closest to Pacheco and Fox. See if one of your drones can get the drop on them. I’m sending Pitching Machine in as well, so between the two of you, I’m hoping you can get to them.”</p><p>There was a small pause, and Theo's smile turned into a toothy grin as he felt the way that the others seemed to be getting closer to their targets. The eager anticipation had his fingers tripping over a few of the access codes, and he frowned to himself. He needed to be better than that. He’d have to send a report about himself. Further typing training, something like that. He couldn’t make stupid mistakes like this. </p><p>He turned his attention back to the screens, trying to push his concern and worry from his mind, even as he noticed the automatic script recording this hunting session note his reminder for a self-report. There would be time for the paperwork later. Right now, he needed to track down the last of the Heavensmaws. They had Igneus, James, Taylor, Fox, and Pacheco accounted for. That left Internet, Castillo, Richardson, Mueller, and Nava. Theo frowned for a moment before re-evaluating the list. Marijuana, too. </p><p>“Sir? Fox and Pacheco just entered the jet. Permission to enter the air strip?” </p><p>Theo blinked, frowning at the interruption to his thoughts, though he should have recognized the slight disappointment from OLL-E and Pitching Machine for what it was earlier. Another item to report; he wasn’t doing nearly adequately enough today. “Permission denied, OLL-E. The two of you need to track down Internet. He’s gone cold and quiet, and he’s smart enough to have avoided the computer systems for now. I’ll let you know if that changes.”</p><p>“Of course, sir.”</p><p>OLL-E’s comm link went quiet, and Theo sighed softly. Igneus and James were still over a mile away, and Taylor was running in circles, three miles away from the jet. Despite the number of times they had been to Seattle, they still seemed to get hopelessly lost. If Theo couldn’t feel the rush of getting so close to the star-person, he’d almost feel sorry for just how lost Taylor looked. The Corporates needed the other Heavensmaw players, though. He looked through the feeds, eyes flickering back and forth as he cycled through his security cameras before grinning as he finally caught sight of one of the white-and-silver uniforms. </p><p>“Lenny, Torres, Browning, and Avilla, Castillo’s on the corner of Spokane and Beacon, travelling south. They’re moving fast, but I’m sure the four of you can intercept them.” Theo smiled for a moment before sighing and returning his attention to the screens. So close. So very, very close. With how close Gwiff, Abbot, and Ollie felt, Theo was confident that they would <em> finally </em>catch Taylor. They would catch that celestial player, and that would show Sandoval. They were the perfect team, and then Heavensmaw would get relegated instead. Sad, but that was the consequences of going up against the finely-tuned machine that was the Corporates.</p><p>Finally, after far too long, Theo caught sight of the cluster of the last of the Heavensmaw players, their bright uniforms clear and stark against the backdrop of the darkened buildings. “Everyone not in current pursuit, I have visual on the remaining Moonrays. I repeat, these are the last of the Moonrays. If you are not in pursuit, there are four players moving slowly in Delridge. They’re along Holden Street, between 14th and 13th Avenue. Mike, I’m pulling you from the Taylor chase and placing you there, as they’re ducking into the sewer system.” Theo grinned as he felt the new rush of power, the way everyone could feel the end of the hunt drawing near. They still had almost two hours, with the timer in the corner of his screen steadily ticking away. This was by far one of their best hunts to date, and he knew that their superiors would be rather pleased. Maybe they’d manage to synergize with the entire Heavensmaw team, too. Such well-refined perfection deserved to be working to make such an excellent corporation rather than the disappointing civic mess that Sandoval had created. Everything was working perfectly.</p><p>“Theo, I need you to take a look at something.”</p><p>Theo frowned at Abbott’s voice in his ear, and he shifted, turning his attention to the cameras following her and the others hunting Lars Taylor. “Yes? What is it? Efficiency, please, or else I can’t assist the others.”</p><p>“Right, yeah.” Allison took a deep breath, pulling herself onto a roof, and Theo frowned as he turned to look through Gwiff’s camera feeds instead of hers. “Taylor, something looks off.”</p><p>That was certainly concerning, and Theo could see what she meant. Taylor’s running was growing more unsteady, and while he supposed that could be because they were getting to the final capture, something in his gut told him that wasn’t the case. He turned his attention to the satellite feeds, reading the temperature layouts before frowning. His blood spiked with fear before he could entirely process it, and he could feel the ripple and feedback as everyone else’s fear spiked in return.</p><p>“Back off! Abbot, Gwiff, get away from Taylor, get away from them! They’re going nuclear, core temperature of three hundred degrees and climbing, why didn’t you <em> notice </em> they were melting the street behind them? Fuck, get away from them!”</p><p>Even as everyone ran, the fear and orders palpable enough from Theo that it affected everyone rather than those in the Taylor pursuit, Taylor’s temperature continued to climb. Theo didn’t know what to do, how to get that to stop at all, even as he tried to deploy some of the firefighting systems. Soon enough his screens went white, the pain of the destruction of the cameras as well as that of Abbott and Gwiff getting caught in whatever explosion rippled through the entire team. Theo, caught between the immediate pain of the destruction of his systems, and the pain Abbott and Gwiff were in, couldn’t help but scream as he tried to pull away from the ports connecting to his spine. Maybe if he got away, maybe if he got unhooked from the system, it wouldn’t hurt so much. </p><p>At least they all blacked out in unison, their worlds going blank from the pain.</p><p> </p><p>Theo didn’t know how long it took before he found himself conscious again. His screens were black, with the final still of the Heavensmaw jet flying away and a clear “GAME OVER” screen across the dozens of displays surrounding him. His spine ached, sparks of pain jumping from port to port as he tried to re-learn how to breathe. Everything still hurt, and the ports at his neck hurt worse, feeling almost loose as he reached back to unplug himself from his chair. The others would get back to headquarters, or not, but for now, he needed to turn himself in for further training, as well as get his equipment turned in for repairs. </p><p>What a disappointing failure.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you all enjoyed the fic! I honestly really love Dark!Seattle, so I'll...probably start writing more of it at some point. Thank you all for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!</p></blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
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